Sorry I haven't posted in awhile but since school started its been crazy. The teachers have warmed up to me a lot and are excited about the dance. The kids are picking it up pretty well. Only a week until the performance so I'm hoping they will be ready. In the middle of the second week I started mentoring students who really need help with reading. Some are 12 and are reading at a level 1. The students are willing to learn and even want to skip their breaks so i can teach more! Which makes me feel good. We had reading assessments last friday and it was not good. A lot of them are really struggling. Starting monday i will be mentoring 10 children in reading all different grades. The volunteer in torkor-kpando left so i was sent monday afternoon to help at the school there. I was supposed to leave tuesday afternoon but im still here! The children at torkor are wonderful! Really helpful! One of the kids Schneider picked me up at the kpando station and escorted me to the house. We met his friend Hope and they showed me where i could get take out. The next morning, the children from the school came with water from the well. I mean like 10 all carrying water on their heads. Two young boys Godsway and Confidence helped me to figure out the stove but they realized that there was no gas. I went to the school and the children ran to greet me. I entered the office and discussed with the director Bishop about all I had to accomplish. We went to the classrooms to talk to all the sponsored children to tell them to send their parents the next day. The next day. I ended up meeting parents all day to talk to them about their money responsibilities, 5 cedes renewal fee, daily feeding fee, health insurance card, and the difference the sponsors aren't paying. I also had Christian and Walter sign for their Pagus High School Awards and give them their scholarship money. The next day I met with parents again and Christian accompanied me to buy the provisions at the market. I also bought some flip flops since mine, broke in town and bartered for a couple dresses. The next day Thursday, we handed out the provisions to the sponsored children who came the first day of school boy were they happy! Today, (friday) me and Hope were supposed to pick up the new volunteer in Accra. But the volunteer Colleen called and said something went wrong with her ticket and we'd be picking her up Saturday instead. So i went to school and today was fun day. The kids were cleaning the compound and then they had a soccer match teachers vs students! Me and mavis and her friend had a dance competition with the younger children it was so fun! Some of them can really dance! The match was fun too the students won! Tomorrow to Accra we go! Yay, this Wisconsinite misses cheese and chocolate bars and potato chips! Until next time!

Basic Living

This week was an eventful week. I worked hard on the inventory, 18 boxes and I am proud to say that I finished them today! Yay Me! On Wednesday, I went to Kpando to work with the other volunteer John. The trip was about an hour and a half. It was my first experience on a trotro. A trotro is basically a large size fan that is supposed to fit 11 people but really crams about 15 in there. An interesting experience, especially since I made the mistake of traveling in midday. It was literally like a sauna! But, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. I arrived in Kpando and as soon as I stepped out of the trotro I was swarmed by people they already knew I was not from there because Kpando is so small and again I stick out like a sore thumb. I think they are less used to Americans because everyone stared more than usual. John and his two girls arrived and we took a taxi to the house. I thought I was living in basic living already, but nope I quickly learned. There was no running water installed yet so you guessed it I had to take my first bucket bath! It's not as bad as it sounds actually. Secondly, I was told there were bats in the ceiling and I could hear them at night so the first night I didn't catch too much sleep. The next day we visited the other school Bishop Forson and it was a lot bigger than Airfield. They have dormitories for the kids there unlike Airfield. Before I left, we went to Lake Volta during the day which was breathtaking.  The biggest man made lake. The trip back on the trotro went a lot smoother after you get the hang of it. Today, I picked up one of my outfits that was done in time for me to go to church. I really enjoyed the service today. School starts next week!

Stop And Smell The Roses

Unfortunately I wasn't able to climb the mountain today, we all overslept so we will have to go another day. I went to church yesterday. I'm still getting used to three hour long service. The pastor called me out in church, and I knew that it was bound to happen since I am a visitor that sticks out like a sore thumb! He asked me a question from the bible luckily I thought quickly on my feet, and gave a very vague answer that wasn't incorrect but vague enough not to be wrong! Lol oh well! This time it felt more like my usual mass I go to because they gave communion today. After church, I was teaching the kids dance moves and we gained an audience of passerbys. The kids absolutely love the dances, I hope the kids at Airfield will enjoy it just as much. Today, I am getting ready to go to market to buy some of my groceries. After, I have to do some inventory of supplies that were donated to the school.

The Best Things Come in Threes

On Wednesday, I had a mini quiz for the students, too see if they were learning anything from my methods. I was a little disappointed because only 4 of my original students showed up and I had three new ones. So, I was only to test four of them. Of the four though 3 got 100% and one just got one wrong. I was happy about that! On Thursday, there was no school because of some political things going on in Ghana. The losing party petitioned the courts (about the presidential election) with fraudulent charges and the verdict was to be told. All of Ho was glued to the tube to hear the results. The case was dismissed. I made tomato soup and everyone was fascinated by it, and kinda confused. They, said okay so tomatoes, water, spices, milk and....? Lol, I explained there's no and that's it. They said no meat? Are you vegetarian? On Thursday I also did all my laundry by hand which was an interesting experience. Scrubbing and scrubbing but man are my clothes clean! And the next door neighbors got a kick out of me hand washing for the first time. They even told me to move a little to the left, so they could see better in Ewe of course! There was no school today either. Today, I went to the Americanized restaurant to buy jollof rice and french fries. I am all bankued out for awhile! I was invited tonight to an all night church session but I had to decline that. Tomorrow I"m supposed to climb one of the mountains in the Volta Region. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Hangman

Today my class increased to 11 students. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate English lessons so that they don't have to sit in the classroom the whole time. They get restless, especially with the heat. If anyone has any suggestions let me know! I took them outside and called out a word and they had to run and point out the word. They love hangman, it's one of their favorite games we play it at the end of each class. I plan to give them a little quiz tomorrow to see if they are understanding. I think sometimes they don't understand my accent and they won't tell me if they don't understand. They are good when I put them in small reading books if they can't pronounce a word. I'm really wanting a salad but they don't really eat them here. But I was told that there is one special store I can go where they sell ingredients for a salad. Below is banku and sauce.

Arthur and D.W.

Today, was my first reading group I had 8 students total. They're mostly 10 years old but one is 15. I'm teaching the kids that are having difficulty with reading. They have such enthusiasm and excitement it's wonderful!  They all want to answer questions and write on the board. They'll say, "Oh Madame pick me, pick me!" Sometimes I have to calm them down they get too excited. However, I did have to send one student out of the class for hitting the others. But overall, my first class went well.